• FishbowlDC: The White House Correspondents’ Dinner has an awkward seating arrangement. Who is going to get a booster seat for Justin Bieber? Or Sally Quinn?

• Bitch:Blogging while female is tough. It seems our only choices are to tell TMI-ified personal anecdotes (like, say, fart stories), blog about fashioooooon, or have been famous to begin with. So glad I went with option 3.

]]>Alex Alvarezhttp://www.adweek.com/fishbowlny/blanket-statement-hey-nick-awk/15731#disqus_thread
Alex Alvarez
http://www.adweek.com/fishbowlny/blanket-statement-hey-nick-awk/15731
http://www.adweek.com/fishbowlny/?p=14746Fri, 30 Apr 2010 21:30:00 +0000Weekly Media Stocks Roundup: The Sector Takes a Hit As Earnings Reports Stream In Shares in media companies fell nearly across the board as the broader market lost serious ground thanks to the SEC investigation of Goldman Sachs and uncertainty over financial reform. The S&P 500 lost 2.6% to end at 1186.68.

Earnings season continued, offering investors additional insight into the health of the media space. Financial Times publisher Pearson (PSO) on Friday announced first-quarter revenue growth of 7%. Shares nevertheless lost 1.2% on the week to end at $15.97.

Shares of The Daily Beast operator IAC/Interactive (IACI) lost 4.6% to close at $22.45. The company on Wednesday announced a first-quarter loss that had narrowed compared with the first quarter of 2009. In a conference call with analysts, CEO Barry Diller said the iPad would play an important role in the company’s future. Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia (MSO), also posted a narrowed first-quarter loss on Wednesday. Shares fell 2.3% to $6.68.

Meredith Corp. (MDP), which publishes Family Circle and other consumer titles, announced it made a fiscal third-quarter profit that climbed 31% year over year. Shares nevertheless fell 3.2% to $35.93.

Weekly stock results for The New York Times Co., Gannett, Lee Enterprises and more after the jump.

Shares of The New York Times Co. (NYT) got a 15% haircut over the past five days to finish the week at $9.92. The company elected Carolyn Greenspon to its board of directors on Friday. At the beginning of the week, News Corp.’s (NWSA) Wall Street Journallaunched its “Greater New York” section, a direct assault on the Times‘ local coverage. NYT chairman Arthur Sulzberger this week discussed the newspaper’s metered model, which is due to debut early in 2011.

Shares of News Corp. dropped 4.3% to $15.43.

USA Today publisher Gannett (GCI). The company expanded the presence of its MomsLikeMe.com site in a collaboration with Bay Area News Group. The company also announced it ranked No. 1 in an Audit Bureau of Circulations study of the reach of U.S. print newspapers. Shares fell 6.9% to close Friday at $18.28.

E. W. Scripps (SSP) was one of the only stocks to finish the week higher. It rose 5.5%, helped by a J.P. Morgan upgrade of the stock. J.P. Morgan analysts voiced approval at the company’s sale of the “Peanuts” comic’s brand and characters.

]]>Mike Taylorhttp://www.adweek.com/fishbowlny/weekly-media-stocks-roundup-the-sector-takes-a-hit-as-earnings-reports-stream-in/15730#disqus_thread
Mike Taylor
http://www.adweek.com/fishbowlny/weekly-media-stocks-roundup-the-sector-takes-a-hit-as-earnings-reports-stream-in/15730
http://www.adweek.com/fishbowlny/water-water-everywhere-balls-and-magic-the-penguincubator_b15749Fri, 30 Apr 2010 21:15:50 +0000April Was A GREAT Month For Media JobsIf you look at the number of job postings on some of the industry’s biggest boards in April, you can’t help but smile.

April was a great month for three media job boards, including mediabistro.com’s own board, with postings surging in the second half of the month.

On mediabistro.com’s board, the number of available jobs rocketed past 1,000 on April 15 and has stayed above 1,000 since, the longest stretch since we began keeping track at the beginning of the year.

Here’s a graphical representation of the data from about six weeks ago to today: the blue line represents the number of postings on a given day; the red is a seven-day average meant to smooth out weekend fluctuations.

JournalismJobs.com also saw growth in the second half of the month, with its postings hitting over 700 earlier this week.

And Bookjobs.com, a much smaller, niche board for those in publishing, also saw a surge in postings—volume there topped 150 earlier this month.

Is this the beginning of the recovery? Maybe! This growth has been pretty consistent over the past few weeks—but let’s give it a little more time.

]]>Rachel Kaufmanhttp://www.adweek.com/fishbowlny/april-was-a-great-month-for-media-jobs/311259#disqus_thread
Rachel Kaufman
http://www.adweek.com/fishbowlny/april-was-a-great-month-for-media-jobs/311259
http://www.adweek.com/fishbowlny/april-was-a-great-month-for-media-jobs_b311259Fri, 30 Apr 2010 20:45:04 +0000Maryland Blogger To WaPo: ‘Remind Me Why We Should Be Working For You For Free?’The Washington Post’s plan to create a local blogging network has some local bloggers disgruntled.

Adam Pagnucco of Maryland Politics Watch reported last week that he was approached by the Washington Post to join a local blogging network. (This one, here.)

The deal would involve the Post syndicating MPW’s content; it would also require all bloggers in the network to participate in a discussion once a week and create a “workflow plan” where each blogger in the network would be required to create extra material on a rotating basis.

Pagnucco turned them down, he says.

Why?

The Post underestimates the blogosphere, he says. Using Google Reader subscriber counts as an example, he says “MPW’s rag-tag band of volunteers, guests and rogues has slightly more regular online subscribers than the Post’s entire paid staff of Maryland reporters combined.”

(To be fair, this metric is far from scientific, but the Post doesn’t release site visit statistics publicly.)

“We think there is value in the additional traffic it will drive to their blogs and in having their writing exposed to a new audience,” Post spokesperson Kris Coratti told us via e-mail.

Second, says Pagnucco, “the implications of the Post’s plan to use bloggers as free labor are troublesome for its paid columnists. The Post has several good local columnists like Colbert King, Courtland Malloy and Robert McCartney. If bloggers fill their functions for free, the Post will inevitably phase them out. In the labor movement, we have a term for workers who undercut other workers and threaten their jobs: scabs. As a labor guy for sixteen years, I have no intention of blogoscabbing.”

Besides, Pagnucco doesn’t sound like he’s in it for the money. “I spend dozens of hours a week working on this blog for the joys of causing trouble, trading stories, unearthing new facts and slamming beers with the spies,” he says. “I suppose someday I may have to run ads…although everyone knows there is no real money in this. But if I am going to be asked to make money for the Grahams, why shouldn’t I get a cut? Do they think I’m so desperate for their approval that I would sign away my work to them for nothing? Furthermore, I don’t believe that a masthead over my name lends anything to my words. Content stands on its own merit in the blogosphere.”

Every day we scour major job boards, including, but not limited to Mediabistro.com’s listings, to find the best media jobs out there. We screen out duplicates and scams so you know you’re only receiving the top choices.

]]>Rachel Kaufmanhttp://www.adweek.com/fishbowlny/jobs-of-the-day-washington-post-express-angies-list-more/311257#disqus_thread
Rachel Kaufman
http://www.adweek.com/fishbowlny/jobs-of-the-day-washington-post-express-angies-list-more/311257
http://www.adweek.com/fishbowlny/jobs-of-the-day-washington-post-express-angies-list-more_b311257Fri, 30 Apr 2010 20:07:53 +0000Jenny Holzer Shrugs Off Twitter ImpostorJenny Holzer may have raised laconic yet principled word bursts to an art form, but she is not behind the Twitter account attributed to her. “Maybe it’s somebody’s conceptual art project,” Holzer told Jori Finkel of the Los Angeles Times. “I would be embarrassed to do it myself—I like being invisible. But when I look at the website, I think: Go, Not-Me.” Holzer’s Twitter impostor has been posting all-caps, Holzer-flavored truisms since May 2007, attracting more than 16,000 followers. On Wednesday in L.A., the artist herself was presented with the Museum of Contemporary Art’s Award to Distinguished Women in the Arts. A fitting honor, as Holzer designed the bronze award plaque back in 1994. It reads “It is in your self-interest to find a way to be very tender,” a truism that yesterday appeared on Twitter.
]]>Stephanie Murghttp://www.adweek.com/fishbowlny/jenny-holzer-shrugs-off-twitter-impostor/279347#disqus_thread
Stephanie Murg
http://www.adweek.com/fishbowlny/jenny-holzer-shrugs-off-twitter-impostor/279347
http://www.adweek.com/fishbowlny/jenny-holzer-shrugs-off-twitter-impostor_b279347Fri, 30 Apr 2010 19:38:42 +0000An Israeli Group Interview

“Show up at 8:30 am on Sunday morning” at [ABC] company for a half-day at an evaluation center, said Liat (not her real name, but isn’t there always a Liat in recruiting agencies?) “I don’t know what’s going to happen there, but you can’t prepare for this. Just try to cooperate as much as possible, be noticed, but not to stick out too much.”

Wonderful, how am I supposed to be conspicuous and inconspicuous simultaneously?

…So I showed up, dutifully, at 8:30 am, to find nine other women in the same predicament. It was a cold winter morning and we were told to fill out forms. Other than that, we were not offered coffee or the trip to the restroom.

…The first exercise was to compare ourselves to a means of transportation and explain why we chose that particular one.
…I was the last in the semi-circle and read from my notes…:
“I chose a ship because it can be used for many purposes, for example both for cargo and for tourism. The staff of a ship need to deal with many different countries, cultures, languages and regulations. This is similar to the work in marketing communications. You have some days where the sea is calm and you can deal with your day to day business. On other days, you have your storms where you need to handle crises. As I made aliyah many years ago, I have been able to adapt successfully to Israeli culture while still being able to handle cross-cultural communication.”

I thought this was a carefully crafted answer and metaphor and was proud of myself. Yael, pretending to show off her expertise in character analysis, sternly turned to me and said “a ship is a very slow-moving vehicle. Does this characterize yourself — slow?” She made a face and wrote a note on my application. Exercise 1. Strike 1.

The problem with group interviews is that they basically scream, “We, the employer, value our time more than yours” when the hiring process should be a back-and-forth.

The problem with this group interview is that the interviewers seem like they’re actively trying to undercut the interviewees.

]]>Rachel Kaufmanhttp://www.adweek.com/fishbowlny/an-israeli-group-interview/311256#disqus_thread
Rachel Kaufman
http://www.adweek.com/fishbowlny/an-israeli-group-interview/311256
http://www.adweek.com/fishbowlny/an-israeli-group-interview_b311256Fri, 30 Apr 2010 19:18:03 +0000The Huffington Post Introduces “The Kathleen Show” Weekly Audio InterviewsThe Huffington Post this week debuted a new audio blog featuring interviews from “The Kathleen Show” – a nationally syndicated radio program hosted by Kathleen Slattery-Moschkau. We spoke a bit with Kathleen to learn a little more about the program and what we can expect to hear.

A filmmaker and health advocate, Kathleen’s show focuses on empowerment and, as she tells us, “going for it.” Going for it, as it were, could mean delving into myriad topics including food, spirituality, the green movement, film, literature, and health care – which Kathleen hopes to discuss in a way that brings attention to alternative, and not necessarily Western, means of medical practices and techniques. Kathleen told us she also hopes that her show will help show people that prevention and living a healthy lifestyle are sexy rather than boring. As if regular colonoscopies are ever boring or unsexy.

Kathleen refers to her interviews as “raw, solid,” and a listen at the first interview and write-up she placed on the newly-launched blog, “God gets a makeover,” fits that description quite nicely. She talks with William Paul Young, the author of the New York Times bestseller The Shack [Which, if I’m not mistaken, is a book that made my dad cry just a little]. Both interviewer and interviewee tear up a bit at some point in the process, which is usually a sign that the interview is going either well or terrible or terribly well.

Each week, although not on any specific day, Kathleen will choose one interview from her radio series along with a roughly 300-word write-up that offers either a personal take on the subject matter discussed, or a behind-the-scenes look at the show.

Given that the slogan for her radio show is “Grab Life by the Ovaries” (Bruising!), we asked Kathleen whether her series and accompanying blog posts would be primarily skewed towards female visitors. Kathleen told us that the theme of “going for it” is universal and that, although her audience is 60 percent comprised of women, she does and will focus on both gender-neutral and males-specific shows – like, for example, how to prevent prostate cancer. In ways that are, naturally, sexy and not boring.

Audio content, Kathleen believes, is an interesting form media to people that will add a new layer to HuffPo’s multimedia coverage. And she hopes that Huffington Post visitors will be able to listen to her segments at their leisure, interact with her and one another via online comments, as well as share stories that interest them via social networks like Facebook and Twitter.

Give her show a listen and let us know what you think. And her accent? Is Wisconsinian. In case you were wondering.

As we look back upon the month that was, our mouths still water at the thought of “Cake Mixx,” Dustin Wayne Harris‘s recent solo exhibition at Heist Gallery in New York. A recent SVA grad with a taste for delicious detritus, Harris served up photographs of cakes baked by people he dated. The work is bold, festive, moody, and fascinating. One chocolately effort suggests a giant inflatable Oreo, another has the otherworldly glow of a cartoon planet Earth. In a kind of Wayne Thiebaud-meets-Freud epiphany, Harris came to realize that the appearance of the cakes—baked at his request after a first date—would inevitably become a metaphor for the relationship. “Whereas some people consult astrologers, read Tarot cards or tea leaves to predict the future, cakes tell it all,” he said. “Take Chloe for example. You can see from her first cake (above), the relationship had great promise. The second tells you that it ended badly.”

]]>Stephanie Murghttp://www.adweek.com/fishbowlny/friday-photo-dustin-wayne-harris-takes-the-cake/279346#disqus_thread
Stephanie Murg
http://www.adweek.com/fishbowlny/friday-photo-dustin-wayne-harris-takes-the-cake/279346
http://www.adweek.com/fishbowlny/friday-photo-dustin-wayne-harris-takes-the-cake_b279346Fri, 30 Apr 2010 18:48:14 +0000San Diego Reader And Printing Company Suing The Bejeesus Out Of Each OtherThe San Dieguito Printer company filed suit in January against the San Diego Reader for a breaking a 10 year exclusive contract. Now the alt-weekly’s publisher Jim Holman is counter-suing the printers for fraud. San Diego CityBeat has details from the suit:

Holman, dba San Diego Reader, was induced to enter into the contract, and to pay the prices specified therein, by the following statement made to Holman and Howard Rosen, the operations manager of San Diego Reader, by a principal and agent of SDP, Richard Lapham, acting in his capacity as an agent for SDP.

Prior to entering into the contract, Lapham told Holman and Rosen that the color rates specified in the contract, and the general printing rates charged by SDP, were the lowest possible rates that SDP could charge and still make a minimal profit on the work SDP did for Holman.

Holman has since learned that the rates charged by SDP are significantly higher than those charged by other printers.

It’s a messy divorce after a long relationship – SDP was the Reader’s printer for 35 years.

Good thing printers and the alternative press have plenty of money for lawyers!